Method and apparatus for treating rags in the production of paper stock



Sepf. 9 ,1924. 1,507,605

J H. HOWE ET AL METHOD AND APPKRATUS FOR TREATING RAGS IN THE PRODUCTION OF PAPER STOCK Filed Feb. 17 1921 2 ShQQtI-ShQe; 1

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firm rs Sept. 9, 1924 I 1,507,605

J H. HOWE ET AL IETHOD AND APPARATUS FOR TREATING BAGS IN THE PRODUCTION OF PAPER STOCK Filed Feb. 17. 1921 i '2 Sheath-Sheet '2 Patented Sept. 9, 1924.

UNITED STATES J. H. HOWE AND CHARLES E. STEVENS, O'F FULTON, NEW YORK, ASSIGNORS TO ARROW- PATENT OFFICE.

HEAD MILLS INC., 0F FULTON, NEW YORK, A CORPORATION OF NEW YORK.

METHOD AND AIPPARATUS FOR TREATING BAGS IN THE PRODUCTION OF PAPER STOCK.

Application filed February 17, 1921. Serial No. 445,875.

To all'whom it may concern:

Be it known that J. H. Hows and CHARLES E. STEVENS, of Fulton, in the county of Oswego, in the State of New York, have invented new and useful Improvements. in Methods and Apparatus for Treating Rags in the Production of Paper Stock, of which the following, taken in connection with the accompanying drawings, is a full, clear, and exact description.

This invention relates to certain improvements in method and apparatus for treating rags in the production of paper stock.

Generally speaking, the broad objects of the invention are to reduce the labor and cost of treating the rags in the production of paper stock, and to improve the character of such stock.

The common and usual method heretofore commercially used for handling the rags as received in bales, and the process followed until they are reduced to the form of paper stock consists in first running the rags through rag cutters, from which they are conveyed to a rag room, or rag storage. In this storage the cut rags are forked and raked by operators into a suitable measuring box, which is set in the floor.

This measuring box is of proper size to hold a beater load of rags. The bottom of the measuring box is usually a false bottom held with hinges which permit the contents of the box to be dumped, when desired, into a cart positioned preferably in the room beneath the box and the rag storage room. This cart is ordinarily wheeled by operators to the beaterto be filled. When the cart reaches the front of the beater, one side of the cart, which is hinged, may be lowered so as to rest on the beater tub, and the contents of the cart are manually raked out into the beater.

The beater is filled with water, and the cut rags and its operation is continued until the contents are suitable to be pumped to the usual head box, from which they are fed to the Jordan engine.

This usual method of handling the rags requires a great deal of hand labor, viz: men in the rag room to fork the rags into the measuring box, from which they are discharged into the cart, and men in the beater room to wheel the cart back and forth and fork the contents of same into the beams- Further, the rags in being handled with forks and rakes are rolled up into balls, and when the same are fed into the beaters it is necessary to raise the beater roll off the bed-plate. If this is not done, the beater roll will jump when balls of rags pass over the bed-plate, and damage to the machinery always results. In using the present commercial process, after the beater is completely filled, it is necessary to' gradually lower the roll and run the beater for quite a considerable time previous to letting the roll down on the bed-plate and putting the same to work cutting rags. I

Further, it is obvious that any metal which is in the rags is liable to get into any of the heaters so they must all be made of the most substantial materials-to withstand these severe shocks. Furthermore, this metal if it gets into the boaters, will bedischarged into thebeater chests, and is liable to be carried along further and cause serious damage to the machinery.

Further, the old process creates a good deal of dust which is distributed not only throughout the rag cutting room, but also in the beater room,

Still further, it is 'well known in the art, that the beating of stock in felt millsrequires cutting up the stock into fibres just as quickly as possible. The longer it takes to beat the stock, the poorer the sheet of paper, because many of the fibres in passing between, the plates of the beater roll and the bed-plates, instead of being out, are drawn out. This drawing of the fibres is distinctly a disadvantage in a felt mill, and any reduction in the time necessary to reduce the rags to finished stock improves the character of that stock, and we have discovered that whereas in the old process, in which the entire reduction of the rags to finished stock is effected in a single beater, the time, required for that operation is not less than one hour (1 hr.) and usually requires additional time up to an hour and a half.

The improved process of this application reduces the time required to produce finishedstock to about 4:0 minutes. Further, it

eliminates the labor of forking rags from in connection with the accompanying draw-' ings, in which Fig. 1 is a diagrammatic elevation of the apparatus of our invention.

Figs. 2 and, S are respectively a top plan and a vertical section of the ordinary and well known beater, illustrating the improved method of discharging the rags into the beater by which balling up of the rags is avoided, and the necessity of raising the beater roll off the bed-plate during operation eliminated.

The apparatus as shown, comprises a ragcutting room l containing one or more rag cutters 2 from which a gravity con-- veyor, or pipe -3' leads directly to the hood of a half-stock beater, or heaters As shown, these heaters are 2 in number, and. the conveying pipe is provided with a valve 5, permitting direction of the cut rags into either of the heaters in a substantially continuous uniform stream. The conveyor -3 penetrates the hood -6- of the heater so as to discharge the cut rags on the rapidly revolving beater-roll 7 so that the rags are broken up and scattered by the force of the roll. At the same time these out rags are being fed into the half-stock heaters the heater tubs --8- are being filled with water. The heater roll may he kept in contact with the bed plate all the time that the heater is being filled. This is possible because the rags are fed into the beater so gradually in a constant, uniform stream, and they do not form into balls or thick masses. which would cause the beater roll to jump.

It is obvious that with this method the roll begins to work as soon as any rags are fed into the heater. These halt-stock heaters 4- should be constructed of the most rigid material to withstand the severe shock due to any metal or other hard substance coming into the heaters with the rags.

These half-stock heaters 4 quickly break up the rags and reduce the same to a condition where they may he handled successfully by an agitator and a pump. The time required to reduce the rags to half-stock is found to he approximately 20 minutes. When the stock has arrived-in this condition, the heaters are dumped, and the contents discharged by gravity into the half stock chest -9-. The stock in this hest is kept in a continual state of agitation, as by rotary agitator -10 and any heavy, undesirable substances, such as metaLhuttons, dirt, etc, settle to the bottom of the chest, which is provided with a suitable trap basin 1l to catch and retain the same until cleaned out.

From the half-stock chest -9-, the stock is pum ed as required, preferably by a cen trifuga pump -12- through pipe 13-, from which it is discharged under considerable pressure and with great force through the hoods -14 of the finishing heaters -15- and upon the beater rolls -7 of such heaters, further breaking up the stock. which at all times has a tendency tohang to gether in balls, or lumps.

In view of the fact that the contents of these finishing heaters -15- is solely rags and water, they can be constructed of less rigid material, and in a less expensive manner than the ordinary heaters used in the commercial process. The heater roll may he set down hard on the bed-plate and kept continuously at work. By keeping the rolls on the bed plate the stock is kept in a more uniform condition than is possible where the rolls are raised and lowered alternately as the heaters are filled and dumped.

By reason of the increased efiiciency-v it is I found that the half stock can be reduced to finished stock in these finishing heaters in approximately 20 minutes. thus effecting ,a saving in time of at least 20 minutes in pro ducing finished stock. and very often the time saved is considerably greater with the corresponding resultant improvement in character of the product. When the stock in the finishing heaters has been reduced to the proper consistency, these heaters are dumped and the contents discharged by gravitv into the heater chest -16, also provided with a rotary agitator -17- and a catch basin 18.

The stock from the heater chest -16- is pumped preferably by a triplex plunger pump, 19- to the head box 20, from whiclrit is discharged by gravity to the Jordan engine 21-. my excess stock which is pumped tr the head box may overflow hack into the chest 16 through pipe -22.

After the stock passes through the Jordan and the Jordanengine may beof various constructions, these shown being illustrative of suitable structures for ourpurpose, and

although we have shown and described particular forms, shapes and arrangements of the parts of'the apparatus, and referred details of the process, we donot esire to limit roll of either of said half-stock beaters, a

ourselves to the same as various changes may be made in the details of both apparatus and process without departing from the invention as set forth in the appended claims.

What we claim is:

1. The process of treating rags, consisting in cutting the ragsinto relatlvely'small pieces, feeding said out rags in substantially uniform stream upon the surface of a beater roll rotating athigh speed, subject'- ing such cut rags combined with water to the action of the beater'until reduced to half stock condition, discharging the half-stock from the beater andfinto ahalf-stock chest, agitating the half-stock in said chest and separating heavy substances from thehalfstock, pumping the halfstock from the chest'and discharging it under high pressure upon afinishmg beater roll rotating at high speed,.*sub 'ect1n such half-stock to p the action of the'finis ing beaterun'til the desired consistency is reached, discharging the stock from the finishingfbeater and'passing it through a Jordan engine,

2. The process of treating rags in the production of pulp, comprising feeding the rags in a substantially uniform stream-upon the surface of a beater roll rotating-at high speed, subjecting such rags; combined with water to" the action of the'beater'until reduced to ahalf-stock'condition, dischar g the half-stock from the beater, pro e1 ing the half-stock under pressure on tot e sur-- face of a rapidly revolving beater roll, andbeating the half-stock until the desired con-- sistency is reached.

3. In an apparatus ofthe class described,

a rag cutter, a pair of half-stockbeaters,

means for directing cut rags from said rag cutter on. to the upper surface of the beater half-stock chest, means for discharging half-stock from either of said beaters .lnto

onto the upper surface of the beater. roll of either of said finishing heaters,

4. The process of treating rags, consisting [in cutting the rags into relatively" small.

said half-stock chest, a pair of finishing heaters, and means for discharging half stock under pressure from the stock chest pieces, feeding said out rags upon the surthe half stock from the beater into a halfstock chest, agitating the half stock in said chest, pumping the half stock from the chest and discharging'it under high pressure upon a finishing beater. roll rotating at high speed, subwctingsuchhalf stock to the act1on' of the finishing beater until thedesired n consistency is reached, and discharging the stock from the finishingbeater and passing it thru a Jordan engine.

In witness whereof they have hereunto set. their hands this 2nd day of February 1921.

J. H. HOWE. i CHARLES E. STEVENS. Witnesses:

I T. E.-Grrunn,-

H. G. Coon. 

